I’ve decided that you only really learn what it means to troubleshoot when the internet is a moto ride away from the computers you’re troubleshooting, it’s slower than a landline, and everything you’re
trying to troubleshoot is in a foreign language. Oh yes, this is the world I live in. But there’s a certain sort of satisfaction that comes from each little triumph, and a certain acceptance that comes with the
things you can’t fix. Some of the issues I’ve fixed, others that I can’t fix are simply irritations (thus far, anyway). In so many cases since I’ve been here, I’ve had to abandon my quest for perfection in
the small things because here, there ain’t no such thing. By the end of today I hope to have all 10 of the schools computers up and running, frozen and perfect – with the exception of the explorer
window that appears at start up… oh well. You can’t have everything. But I swear that if I ever meet a spyware author, I seriously will meat him.
I’ve had a couple meetings with the faculty and one with some of the leaders of the community. Many didn’t show, so we have to have another just to organize a committee to get the fund raising going. We have, however, agreed that a good first goal is to get internet put into the school – I think. It’s always hard for me to tell what they really want. But so far, the rough plan is to give basic computer classes during the summer to raise money so that we might have internet by the
beginning of the next school year. I also hope to give an arts and crafts class with an emphasis on using recycled materials. We’ll see how that goes.
Something that’s been a bit of an adjustment for me, or at least a realization, is that the mentality here, even in meetings, isn’t so down-to-business as I am. I find myself wanting to sprint ahead with
these grand plans of a theater group and art classes to raise funds for internet, to spear head this enormous task of producing a teacher training video series… and everyone here is just cogiendolo suave. Just taking it easy. So, needless to say, a task I’ve had to add to my list is to learn how to start small and to have patience. Suddenly, two years doesn’t seem like such a long time at all.
I’m pretty sure it’s rained here every day since I’ve been back. So when they said May was the rainy season, they most definitely meant it. It has been oddly regular, also. Hot, cloudy, and humid in the
mornings with torrential downpours around lunch, which would cool off the air a bit for the evenings. Last Sunday, Evan, my volunteer neighbor, and I had the idea to hike out to beach that morning to beat the rains. Little did we know that the beach during and after the rain, isn’t anywhere you really want to be. The once crystal blue waters were now brown with runoff from the rivers, almost all the way out to the horizon where a strip of blue still remained untouched. The beach was spotted with litter that had also been washed down stream. It was a bit of a disappointment, but we got a lot of walking in that day, and some castigation for having done so. They look at me like I’m from another planet when they find out I’ve been walking. “A pie!?” they say, “Que lejos! Que peligroso!” But it’s really not dangerous at all, though lejos is more or less true, as it is an hour’s walk to the
nearest town of Los Guineos.
Anyhow, things are pretty tranquilo here, though I certainly have enough to do. Which is just the way I like it. Hope all is well, wherever you are, and I hope to hear from you all soon!
trying to troubleshoot is in a foreign language. Oh yes, this is the world I live in. But there’s a certain sort of satisfaction that comes from each little triumph, and a certain acceptance that comes with the
things you can’t fix. Some of the issues I’ve fixed, others that I can’t fix are simply irritations (thus far, anyway). In so many cases since I’ve been here, I’ve had to abandon my quest for perfection in
the small things because here, there ain’t no such thing. By the end of today I hope to have all 10 of the schools computers up and running, frozen and perfect – with the exception of the explorer
window that appears at start up… oh well. You can’t have everything. But I swear that if I ever meet a spyware author, I seriously will meat him.
I’ve had a couple meetings with the faculty and one with some of the leaders of the community. Many didn’t show, so we have to have another just to organize a committee to get the fund raising going. We have, however, agreed that a good first goal is to get internet put into the school – I think. It’s always hard for me to tell what they really want. But so far, the rough plan is to give basic computer classes during the summer to raise money so that we might have internet by the
beginning of the next school year. I also hope to give an arts and crafts class with an emphasis on using recycled materials. We’ll see how that goes.
Something that’s been a bit of an adjustment for me, or at least a realization, is that the mentality here, even in meetings, isn’t so down-to-business as I am. I find myself wanting to sprint ahead with
these grand plans of a theater group and art classes to raise funds for internet, to spear head this enormous task of producing a teacher training video series… and everyone here is just cogiendolo suave. Just taking it easy. So, needless to say, a task I’ve had to add to my list is to learn how to start small and to have patience. Suddenly, two years doesn’t seem like such a long time at all.
I’m pretty sure it’s rained here every day since I’ve been back. So when they said May was the rainy season, they most definitely meant it. It has been oddly regular, also. Hot, cloudy, and humid in the
mornings with torrential downpours around lunch, which would cool off the air a bit for the evenings. Last Sunday, Evan, my volunteer neighbor, and I had the idea to hike out to beach that morning to beat the rains. Little did we know that the beach during and after the rain, isn’t anywhere you really want to be. The once crystal blue waters were now brown with runoff from the rivers, almost all the way out to the horizon where a strip of blue still remained untouched. The beach was spotted with litter that had also been washed down stream. It was a bit of a disappointment, but we got a lot of walking in that day, and some castigation for having done so. They look at me like I’m from another planet when they find out I’ve been walking. “A pie!?” they say, “Que lejos! Que peligroso!” But it’s really not dangerous at all, though lejos is more or less true, as it is an hour’s walk to the
nearest town of Los Guineos.
Anyhow, things are pretty tranquilo here, though I certainly have enough to do. Which is just the way I like it. Hope all is well, wherever you are, and I hope to hear from you all soon!
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